Jennifer Merrick

The High Sierra: Divine Road Tripping in Tuolumne County, California
Article and photography by Jennifer Merrick
“The Sierra should be called the Range of Light—the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain chains I have ever seen,” wrote renowned naturalist, John Muir, in 1868. These mountains, which span 400 kilometers along the eastern edge of California, captured Muir’s heart,and he championed the region, leading to the creation of Yosemite National Park.
As a lover of road trips and mo...

Best vacation decision ever? Taking our kids skiing when they were young. We all took lessons. The kids excelled, and over the years, progressively improved and tackled more challenging runs. I floundered, and even now 15 years later, I only cautiously navigate the easiest of slopes. But I absolutely love it.
Challenging yourself at any level is thrilling and the exhilaration is amplified by the mountain scenery. It turns out snow is beautiful when you’re not shovelling it, especially when yo...

A Golden Visit to the Presidio of San Francisco
At the exact moment I pulled up to my hotel, the fog parted to reveal the two top peaks of the towers of San Francisco’s iconic bridge before disappearing again under Karl’s shroud (Karl being the moniker locals call the city’s pervasive fog). After checking in, I was thrilled to see from my hotel window that the bridge had revealed more of herself with crimson-painted steel stretching into the fog that now only draped half o...

Have you heard of the Paris Syndrome? First coined by Japanese psychiatrist, Hiroaki Ota, in the 1980s, the term refers to an intense form of culture shock that a few tourists experience, stemming from extreme disappointment due to their romanticized expectations. The gap between the portrayal of the City of Lights in popular culture versus the reality of a congested, gritty metropolis overwhelms, resulting in psychosomatic symptoms. Though this reaction is extreme, many iconic cities, especially during peak season, when crowds and line-ups grow exponentially, may not live up to our idealized

A one-tank trip if you’re in the Greater Toronto Area.
In less than half the time we’d normally spend waiting to board a flight at Pearson International Airport/YYZ, we had already arrived at Horseshoe Resort, located just north of Barrie. But despite its short distance from home, it still had all the elements of a true escape. On our family’s two-day getaway, we experienced the sauna culture of Finland, the tranquility of the forests and the carefreeness of resort life.
Welcome to Finland!
T...

Rejuvenation, Relaxation and a Room with a View:
Lake Austin Spa Resort
by Jennifer Merrick
Lounging on the outdoor chair in front of my room at Lake Austin Spa Resort, I gazed at a view that I never imagined existed in Texas. The turquoise water of Lake Austin shimmered, reflecting the lush, verdant vegetation surrounding it. Colorful beds of flowers contrasted the shades of green of the many varieties of trees. Directly in my line of sight was an especially stunning lofty hardwood that I di...

Cruise
A Le Boat Family Adventure on the Nivernais Canal, France
by Jennifer Merrick
If you’re looking for a carefree all-inclusive cruise vacation with every meal taken care of and nothing to think about except maybe what excursion to choose or when to book a massage, Le Boat is not for you. But if you’re up for an adventure and looking for an authentic travel experience that will take you off the beaten tourist path and immerse you in a destination, then book Le Boat for your next vacation....

Cincinnati: The Queen City of the West (and Birthplace of the Magic 8 Ball)
by Jennifer Merrick
When I first heard that Cincinnati’s nickname was ‘The Queen City of the West’ or that it had even been described as the ‘Paris of America’, I had my doubts it would live up to its grandiose name. To be honest, I knew very little about this Ohio city except it had a baseball team and its radio station staffed some very funny DJs and a newscaster who thought turkeys could fly (at least according to ...

Choose from more than a dozen restaurants on this self-guided culinary tour in Buffalo, New York, where hungry travelers can sample the city's most famous food export.
Never ask for ranch. That’s the only rule to remember on the Buffalo Wing Trail. Buffalo’s culinary scene has blossomed with chef-driven restaurants and multicultural offerings, but the humble chicken wing remains an enduring legacy. The dish was invented here after all.
It’s difficult to imagine now, but chicken wings were onc...

Explore the stories of those who sought freedom from slavery with this car-caravan tour that visits historic locations across the Niagara Region of Ontario.
In the 1800s, the Canadian city of St. Catharines and the Niagara Region were a recognized haven for those seeking freedom from slavery and one of the endpoints of the Underground Railroad, an informal resistance network of safe houses.
Today, Lezlie Harper, a direct descendant of one of the approximately 40,000 freedom seekers who used t...

This Toronto, Ontario, theater’s philosophy is that “only the best is good enough for children.” It stages high-quality, professional productions of both classic and contemporary plays for kids.
All the world’s a stage, or at least it appears that way in Toronto, where the city’s entertainment district boasts the third-largest English-speaking theater locale in the world after the West End in London and Broadway in New York City. Visitors revel in its big-name musicals, concerts and productio...

A welcome treat in your room is always a nice touch at a resort, perhaps some chocolates, a cheeseboard or even a bottle of bubbly. But in my room at the Falcon’s Resort by Melia, along with some lovely macarons, was a more unusual gift – a caricature of myself. Drawn in stealth by a local artist as I was checking in, it was a flattering depiction, a 2.0 version of myself with not a character line or f...

The properties that enamor me the most are the ones that pay homage to their surroundings. Resorts that wouldn’t belong anywhere else in the world but where they are, like the Hacienda del Sol, located just outside Tucson.
Relaxing on my room’s balcony, I gazed at the Santa Catalina Mountains in the distance and admired the Saguaro cactus standing majestically in front of me. The brilliant blues of...

Rodeo to Wine: A Perfect Lone Star State Road Trip Combo
by Jennifer Merrick
The excitement of the city or the tranquility of the countryside? A star-studded spectacle or a show of wildflowers? Revelling and relaxing are equally appealing on vacation. But on this Texan spring break road trip, we didn’t have to choose. Houston and Fredericksburg hit the sweet spot with a perfect combo of energy and relaxation.
Houston, whose nicknames include Bayou City, Space City and H-Town, is the fou...

Our intrepid editors booked a room at one of New England’s grandest hotels, steeped in glamorous history and a nod to the past but with all the modern bells and whistles, and why you should too.
Hotel check in/check up – our intrepid editors booked a room at one of New England’s grandest hotels, steeped in glamorous history and a nod to the past but with all the modern bells and whistles, and why you should too.
The last of New Hampshire’s grand hotels and a symbol of the Gilded Age, the Omni...